Size is relative and it can relate to the size of your garden, the plants in it, or leaf and flower size. All of these things contribute to the balanced look of your garden. Great garden designs combine plants of various sizes.
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| The plants grown beside this bench are just tall enough to be at eye level of someone sitting there, but not so tall that they would feel imposing. |
Garden size is often determined by one’s personal taste, budget, and ability to maintain it. If you are gardening in a small space such as a courtyard, using smaller scale, cool colored plants will help to make the space look larger. A single large specimen plant could be used as a focal point in this case. Using many large scale plants in a small space can make it feel congested and overwhelming. Conversely, if your garden is vast, using many large plants would be appropriate in scale.
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| This layered garden was designed with taller plants in the back, shorter plants in the front, and a few wispy "see through" plants in the very front. |
When planning a new flower border, many people choose the “layered” look where they position the shortest plants in the front and the tallest ones in the back. This design keeps favorite plants from being hidden behind others, but it can look a bit regimented if the layers are too precise. Try planting a few “see through” plants (those with tall, wispy flowers but short foliage like Baby’s Breath) towards the front of the garden to help blend the layers together.
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| The large flowers of Perennial Hibiscus make an outstanding focal point in the landscape. Here, they contrast nicely with the wispy flowers of Perovskia (Russian Sage). |
Plants with bold foliage or very large flowers can act as focal points or specimens in the garden. For example, the flowers of perennial hibiscus can measure up to a foot across, making it an outstanding specimen in the late summer garden.
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